CALTECH STUDENT HISTORY NOTES
FLEMING HOUSE
Adapted from the Caltech websiteWhen the fraternities were dissolved in 1930-31 the members of the Sigma Alpha Pi fraternity (see Fraternities) almost all moved into the Fleming House part of the new south house complex. Fleming House was built with funds donated by a number of people, and the name Fleming was chosen to honor Arthur H. Fleming, then the chairman of Caltech's Board of Trustees. < P>
|
|---|
| Fleming House courtyard |
Members of Fleming House are called Flems. The house color is red. The motto, from the crest as commonly seen on house beer steins, is "Let the Deed Shaw." The house battle cry is "Go Big Red!" Another important maxim is "Flems stick together!", as well as the slogan "Where men are men, giants walk the earth, and the thundering herd is real" and “Page Sux”. Historically, Fleming House did not offer social memberships (nominally citing all non-Fleming undergraduates as "social members"), but a recent decision by the house leadership changed this long-standing policy. Students may now apply for and obtain Fleming House social membership.
The physical layout of Fleming House includes rooms numbered 8.5 (formerly the RA apartment, now a triple) and π and “Alley 6.9”. The Interhouse Trophy, awarded to the winner of the interhouse athletic competitions, has been awarded to Fleming for the past five years.
For the past few years, Fleming and Page House have pranked each other regularly and included each other in initiations.
|
|
|---|
| Fleming House courtyard |
|
|---|
| The Fleming Cannon at the front of Fleming House |
The Fleming cannon, a Caltech landmark, rests on its wheels on the Olive Walk in front of Fleming. As it makes a very loud noise when fired, it is fired to mark important events, such as the end of Rotation, Ditch Day, the end of the term, and graduation. It was originally cast for use in the Franco-Prussian War but eventually found its way to the then-military themed Southwestern Academy in San Marino, California, where it remained on the front lawn between 1925 and 1972.
In 1972 Fleming class officers got permission from Southwestern Academy to take the cannon, but the underclassmen who mounted new wheels on it and dragged it to campus at night thought they were stealing it. It took months of paint stripping and other work to restore it to operational status. The Caltech administration ordered its return in 1975, but negotiations began for an official transfer of the cannon back to Caltech in 1980, and in 1981 it was returned on a permanent basis to the Caltech campus.
The cannon was stolen by Harvey Mudd students in 1986 (as detailed in this article). At the demands of both college administrations, the cannon was returned to Fleming House approximately 8 weeks after the prank.
It was rumored that Harvey Mudd would attempt to steal the cannon again in 2006 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their original theft; however, the cannon disappeared on March 28, a day before the anniversary, only to show up at MIT, just in time for Campus Preview Weekend, during which many rising freshmen visit MIT. A (seemingly fake) moving company by the name of Howe & Ser Moving Co. has taken credit. (The name is a double pun: When substituting "and" for the ampersand, it reads "how we answer", while substituting the Latin et for the ampersand gives "Howitzer".) Displayed prominently in front of MIT's Green Building, the Fleming cannon sported a giant, gold-plated MIT class ring around its barrel.
A day after the prank was disclosed, Fleming's members began planning a recovery operation on the night of April 7. They immediately sent twenty-three members to Boston to retrieve their cannon. The Flems were greeted at MIT by a group of students and police who watched as the cannon was loaded into a truck. Afterward, a friendly barbecue celebrated the event.
Notable Flems include: George O. Abell (Astronomy, 1951) – Astronomer, Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles; Ronald H. Willens (Physics, 1953) – researcher at Bell Labs, entrepreneur; Benjamin M. Rosen (Electrical Engineering, 1954) – venture capitalist, founder of Sevin Rosen Funds, former chair of Compaq; William Robert Graham (Physics, 1959) – deputy administrator and acting administrator of NASA, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Jay Obernolte (Engineering and Applied Science, 1992) – Video game developer and politician; Jeffery M. Mendez (Chemistry, 1999) – Caltech Lecturer in Chemistry; Ryan Patterson (Physics, 2000) – Caltech Professor of Physics.
A list of most of the Fleming House presidents and resident associates is attached as Appendix F.
Last updated 4/10/04.
Christopher E. Brennen